I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

"...when he looks at Beauty in the only way that Beauty can be seen - only then will it become possible for him to give birth not to images of virtue…, but to true virtue…" - Plato, "Symposium""Beauty is worse than wine; it intoxicates both the holder and beholder." - Aldous HuxleyIt was some years back that my son presented me with a complimentary ticket for a special screening of this movie in Tokyo, in connection with some commemorative occasion which totally escapes me now, along with the venue. I had never heard of "Pakeezah," but I had recently returned from my first or second trip to India, and my enthusing about my impressions and experiences there had obviously prompted him to give me the ticket that had somehow come into his hands (he had no interest in going himself). As things turned out, I missed it. But I knew I had missed something special (I believe the ticket contained the word "legendary"), and so began what must've been about a decade of searching for it in the erstwhile video stores and today's DVD home delivery rental operations, all to absolutely no avail. You can imagine my joy when I finally found the whole thing available for viewing online, with English subtitles."Pakeezah" ("Pure Heart") is indeed special, but certainly not because of the story. It is an oft-told tale of an ill-starred woman, in this case a "tawaif" singer-dancer courtesan, who eventually finds happiness after a lifetime of hardship, through some incredible, i.e., non- credible, twists of fate. The plot is, frankly, ludicrous. The courtesan, or rather her mother (both roles played by Ashok Kumar), rarely appears out of her dancing costume or without makeup, even when wandering around a cemetery in the throes of death. Inconsistencies? It is hard to tell in what age the drama is set; its times seem at once medieval and modern. (I was puzzled when a well-heeled "nawab" patron stepped out of a horse-drawn carriage wearing sunglasses, but later learned that shades could very well have been around in the latter days of steam locomotives.) Ditto for the stage sets. There is something extremely unreal and artificial about every character, every incident, every room, every thing. And the vicissitudes of the narrative are predictable in their unpredictability.But what "Pakeezah" has is beauty, and in an abundance that can be matched by few other movies. It is concentrated in its song-and-dance scenes, which are thankfully many. Director Kamal Amrohi was reportedly a perfectionist, and the dances in the classical "kathak" style were obviously the chief focuses for his practice of this predilection. They are truly "too much" - too rich, beautiful to an excessive degree. In creating them, he left nothing to chance or naturalness, and obsessively and meticulously put his hand to everything in them, meaning not only furnishings and appurtenances in interiors but also background scenery and activity out the window, and even the skies and heavenly bodies in them, which may actually be in flux during the number. Furthermore, the musical compositions are, without exception (as far as I am concerned), excellent works in themselves. Even in subtitles, the lovely, poetic lyrics of the songs (sung mainly by playback-singer godmother Lata Mangeshkar in her prime) accompanying the dances ring true and resonate in the heart with a genuineness of sentiment. In short, all the elements come together, perfectly, in displays of total cinematographic art that delight the eye, ear, heart, and mind. Charged with virtually palpable passion and desire to boot, the dance scenes are nothing less than intoxicating.The reality of "Pakeeza" therefore lies in its dance vignettes, whose truth and beauty are only thrown into sharper relief by the unreality and mediocrity of much of the footage framing them. Their consummation in the film after 14 years' worth of trials and tribulations attests to the director's unswerving commitment to his aesthetics and conviction in their value. In this sense, his is the real "pakeezah."Needless to say, a 10 for the dance scenes. (James Koetting)

Pakeezah has a very interesting history (which is well documented in the 'Trivia' section) about how it came to be. It seems as if destiny conspired to test Kamal Amrohi (the director) while at the same time secretly desiring to see him complete his masterpiece.Pakeezah rides on metaphors, poetry and visual elocution. As a result the intensity with which emotions come out achieve a dimension which may not be very real but are very effective and leave an impact on the viewer.Meena Kumari lives the tragedy of Nargis and Sahib Jaan like her own. The other stars of the film, besides her, are Ghulam Mohammed (the music director), Lata Mangeshkar, Naushad (background score) and Joseph Wirsching (the d.o.p). Their music and cinematography leaves you spell bound.Pakeezah is a classic in world cinema. It reveals new layers to you every time you watch it again. Kamal Amrohi is one of the rare poets of cinema and he left us all a gift.

At last - I've finally got round to it and managed to see a "clean" copy of Pakeezah! Up until now I've only had a mangled scratchy jerky version taped off Dubai TV sometime in the '90's, with quirky English subtitles, dizzying widescreen coverage and a fluid colour with a mind of its own. Having thought the world of such a poor (and short) copy I find the decent one was well worth the wait and the full 140 minutes even more of a pleasure than I thought possible.This was the lovely Meena Kumari's film from start to finish, and I believe was planned by her from 1958 on, finally realising it in 1971. What a shame it was that chronic alcoholism finally killed her soon afterwards, and in fact that she was too ill to perform in some of the scenes in Pakeezah, necessitating a body double. In some scenes the strain definitely shows in her face.The story of Purity versus Adversity I can only treat as fiction having no experience of anything remotely close to it, but I'm led to understand that it faithfully depicts a world now gone that must have been common at one time in India. It's a sparkling and colourful film with a simple relentless epic message, an intense romantic tragedy which is somehow simultaneously feelgood too. But to me it's the peerless golden music by Ghulam Mohammed as sung by the incomparable Lata Mangeshkar - especially Thare Rahiyo - and its part in the unfolding of the story that makes this film so outstanding. I've seldom heard such serious, beautiful, poetic, wondrously sung and played songs on any movie soundtrack. Singin' In The Rain may be my favourite musical film but Pakeezah has my favourite music - yet Lata said that the songs themselves meant nothing special to her. The only pity is that the also unique Mohammed Rafi only had the one song in here, albeit a classic duet with Lata. Because of all this but not blind to its faults, Pakeezah is my favourite Indian movie, filmed at a time when the Westernisation of India was gathering pace and watched now when Western values seem to be state sponsored and de rigueur. At the very least watch Pakeezah for a taste of what Indian "pop" music had to offer the world before it was all jettisoned for drum machines, the Bollywood Beat and bhangra.

A great film requiring an acquired taste. If you're into action, wham bam films and hate serious love stories then its not for you. Otherwise, if you like to sit in front of a good intelligent movie now and again I recommend this very highly. Easily the best film produced in Bollywood this century.The only other Indian film I would give 10/10 for is Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Even then it comes second to this masterpiece.